Written by: Vanessa Young
Hall H was hyped up for Transformers One, an origin story from director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4). Joining the director were producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Keegan-Michael Key (B-127/Bumblebee), Brian Tyree Henry (D-16/Megatron), and Chris Hemsworth (Orion Pax/Optimus Prime).
Nostalgia was the theme of the panel with delighted grown men sharing how much the original cartoon, Transformers, had an impact on them.
“Transformers got me into animation. I wanted to be an animator because of Transformers,” Cooley said, mentioning how much the show inspired him. “The thing that got me really excited about this idea was that it’s characters that we know as enemies, but seeing how they became enemies was fascinating. First thing, I read the script, I said, this is completely different. I’ve never seen this before.”
Key ramped the nostalgia up even higher and got the crowd singing with his rendition of the original Transformers theme song. The crowd sang along and he responded with, “Now, we know who’s over 40.”
Henry and Hemsworth talk about building their brotherhood (not “brobots” di Bonaventura said during the panel) and playing off one another, while also not playing the exact roles the audience has already seen in live-action.
“For both of us, the appeal was the origin story and unlocking the history or creating the history around the fact that they were friends. They started off as friends. And how do two best friends become mortal enemies?” Hemsworth shared.
He added that while it’s a little more complicated to bounce off another actor when voice acting, he would watch Henry’s performance as D-16 and then adjust his own approach based on that. This allowed them both to take the characters on a journey through the loss of friendship.
“Losing a friend is one of the worst heartbreaks,” Henry said, stating it was different than the loss of a lover, friendship is supposed to be family.
He continued, “the loss of friendship is something that I think all of us can understand. But also the idea of friendship is something that we all cherish, so to actually see that these two iconic characters had a friendship and actually lost it; to see what that was, you know, it’s heartbreaking.”
While this seems a heavier topic for a movie that will be seen by little kids, there’s plenty of levity and lightness brought in by Key’s pre-Bumblebee, B-127. This Bee talks so much, apparently even while unconscious. Key plays him with a sweet, dorky, earnestness that might be the most appealing thing about the film.
The packed Hall H audience was treated to three clips from the film, as well as a new trailer, showcasing the young miners, D-16 and Orion Pax, being daredevil best friends, who essentially grow apart. So far apart, in fact, they become one of the most well-known enemies in fictional history.
One of the clips showcases a wild race in which D-16 and Orion Pax crash. Scenes like this are full of fun, unique visuals that could only be accomplished with animation, according to di Bonaventura. He said they were “forced into animation” because this could’ve easily been an over-budget 500 million dollar live-action movie.
Considering the reactions from the crowd while watching the clips, animation will go over just fine. Check out the newest trailer released at the end of the Hall H panel.
Quotes edited for clarity.
Transformers One (releasing September 20, 2024) is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, Transformers One features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.
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